Will Hedwig fly above Spreckels?

The signs of the season are all around us! A hummingbird flits between deep coral bark and tender green buds on the Japanese maple outside my bedroom window. Soft white blossoms appear, by vernal magic, on a bridal wreath bush that, scant days before, was pale brown, crisp and barren.

The fingernails on The Boy, now a high school senior, recently so pink, innocent and smooth, are bitten to nasty, grown-up nubs.

It's springtime!

Nature is fulfilling her seasonal promise, and colleges and universities are energetically fulfilling theirs ... sending out acceptances and rejections. And, unlike the promise of inevitable rebirth in nature ... well, not so much with colleges and universities ... thus the chewed, nubby nails.

But, unlike Mother Nature, these institutions of higher learning are not without a sense of humor. (Well, then again, there is the matter of the Megalopygidae Fluffy Caterpillar. Wikipedia that rascal - and crosscheck Donald Trump while you're at it. Good on you, Mother Nature!)

Last week, as UCSB was on the verge of releasing their decisions, a friend of The Boy's tweeted, "Can someone tell me how we even find out if we got into the UC's ... like is it an email or through a portal?"

The Boy tweeted back, "Typically you will be notified by a carrier owl. Be sure to leave your window open or UCSB may fly away."

A few moments later, UCSB responded, "We are releasing those owls at 3 p.m. PST. We recommend having snacks on hand as it's a long flight for them!"

"Ha Ha," said I. "Where's my inhaler?"

The next few weeks will, inevitably, be a time of high stress for high school seniors and their parents alike. But I like to think that, like so many of these parents, we raised this boy, this child of the Harry Potter generation, with a sense of humor, compassion, courage and possibility ...

But we, as parents, have control over only so much.

So leave the window wide open, son, and keep that sense of humor. It's the family shield, and you're genetically predisposed on your maternal line. Like my mom, your grandma (quite the comedienne) used to say, "It's a blessing - and a blessing."

Gail Scandrett is a freelance writer living in Spreckels. Contact her at: gailybird@sbcglobal.net.